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As the sensory nerves supplying the abdominal wall are divided during abdominoplasty, sensory changes occur in the abdominal skin after surgery, which are troublesome for some patients. These sensory changes can lead to burn injury in uninformed patients. We report the case of a patient who sustained a second-degree burn to the anterior abdominal skin following the application of a heating pad after an abdominoplasty. This burn healed with conservative treatment. Burn injuries due to sensory loss in the abdominal skin following abdominoplasty must be kept in mind, and patients must be informed about this complication.
We present a case in which a patient sustained a deep second-degree burn following abdominoplasty.
1. Case report
A 53-year-old woman underwent abdominoplasty. She placed a heating pad over the abdominal wall 3 weeks after surgery in order to relieve lower abdominal pain. After she removed the heating pad, she noticed that the skin was erythematous. The following day, she noted blister formation and eventual full-thickness necrosis (Fig. 1) . This second-degree burn healed with conservative treatment. The wound had completely re-epithelialised in 3 weeks.
Figure 1Initial presentation of the burn following the application of a heating pad. Note the full-thickness necrosis of the abdominal skin.
During abdominoplasty, neural connections are usually severed during the extensive undermining of the abdominal skin, resulting in a loss of sensation. Recovery of protective sensibility generally requires between 6 months and 3 years.
During this period, the insensate skin is susceptible to trauma, and a burn could easily be sustained following prolonged contact with hot objects or sun exposure. There is no report bringing this particular complication to the attention of plastic surgeons, who should include precautions against the use of a heating pad or other hot object in their instructions to patients following abdominoplasty.
References
Floros C
Davis P.K.B
Complications and long-term results following abdominoplasty: a retrospective study.
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